One of the greatest challenges facing any entrepreneur is getting the most out of your working day. No matter how driven and enthusiastic you may be, it is all too easy to lose track of time, get hung up on minor details, or simply become distracted by other things.

Of course, a large part of maximizing your productivity is self-discipline. No amount of handy apps will solve the problem if you aren’t willing to meet them halfway. Of course, the fact you’ve gotten this far already shows that you’re ready to do your bit.… Read More

It wasn’t a particularly detailed dream. I’d never worked a corporate job, and I didn’t have a family, so my vision was mostly of sitting on the couch and watching baseball while working – with ample breaks for Civilization and Mario Kart.

And it was glorious.

But things changed quickly. What started as a viable replacement for my college job in the deli, soon became a career. As my client portfolio grew and my businesses sprouted from those contracts, I took my work more seriously.

I setup a home office space, carved out dedicated hours every day in which to work, and maintained meticulous schedules.… Read More

I’ve been working for myself eight out of my ten plus professional years. I dove directly from college into freelance copywriting and have been doing it on my own almost constantly ever since (with a brief stint at a New York agency).

Today I run a comprehensive digital marketing agency that focuses on persona development and content strategy for B2B businesses. It’s a long way from freelance articles stuffed with keywords about male pattern baldness products.

So, I understand the urge of many freelancers to get out of their current situation and into a much better one as soon as possible.… Read More

I’ve been freelancing or consulting for 80% of my adult working life. In fact, as of writing this, it’s been almost exactly 10 years since I resolved to quit my job and start working at home, having absolutely no idea how to actually do it.

Over the course of that decade, I’ve worked with hundreds of clients in dozens of countries, and have learned a lot about business, marketing, and productivity. If you want to succeed working for yourself, especially once you have a family, you don’t really have a choice. But it wasn’t always like this. I wasn’t always able to take time off midday to take my son to the dentist or go see a movie when he’s home for an in-service day.… Read More

For two years I worked at a large and very active agency in New York City. It was both difficult and very impactful in my career because of the grueling pace and demanding nature of clients who were used to seeing easily measurable results. In many industries, success is static. You either do what you say you’re going to do or you don’t. There’s little grey area.

But in digital marketing, there’s a lot of grey, because guarantees are difficult to provide and even more difficult to back up. It’s risky to promise a client you can improve their rank in Google for specific keywords within a specific amount of time.… Read More

You’ve just written an epic blog post that you’re certain will go viral in a matter of hours. You hit “Publish” and wait for those hits and “shares” to roll in. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple for most of us, and a few extra steps are required to make sure that your efforts weren’t in vain. On WordPress alone, there are over 2.2 million posts per day, so you’ll need to find a way to make yours stand out from that crowded field. Here are seven things that you should do after you launch that well thought-out blog post.

Optimize Your Internal Linking

Whether you do this before or right after initially publishing your post, optimizing internal linking is incredibly important for several reasons. … Read More

You can’t control everything in your life, and when a curveball comes your way, it can throw your schedule into disarray.

I can’t help you control life. Sometimes, things will hit the proverbial fan. But I do have a handful of tips to help minimize how often your calendar gets bombarded with unexpected requests, so that you can remain productive through it all.

1. Say Yes Only When You Can Follow Through

The “yes” syndrome is a major area where you can cause problems for yourself.… Read More

There are a lot of really cool things online – tools, services, and techniques that other entrepreneurs and businesses are using to create incredible experiences for their prospects and customers.

When I see someone doing something new and exciting I take note – literally. I have a Notebook in Evernote filled with all the awesome stuff I see and notes on how I might be able to implement the same tactic as part of a client’s marketing strategy, and sometimes make it better.

But I don’t often make it back to that list.

It exists and if I ever need a shot in the arm for a project, there’s a big list somewhere with enough ideas to launch a half dozen startups in stealthy, creative ways.… Read More

Increase web traffic. It’s one of the most frustrating things a marketing director can be told, because let’s face it, it doesn’t happen overnight.

That’s why so many companies turn almost immediately to search engine marketing as a solution to their traffic needs. Why invest countless hours and resources in figuring out the byzantine mazes that are the Google and Facebook algorithms when you can just pay for web traffic?

If time is of the essence, this makes sense, but there are some other quick tricks you can use to drive new traffic to your website. Here are six that take less than 5 minutes and will result in at least some new traffic.… Read More